By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his “persistent absence” from the Lok Sabha when crucial issues were being discussed.
Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh lamented the prime minister’s absence in the house when External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna was making a statement on the April 8 visit of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to India. Zardari had held talks with the prime minister over lunch during the day-long visit.
“This statement pertains to a head of state. Parliamentary propriety demands that the prime minister should have made this statement,” said Jaswant Singh, a former external affairs minister.
He said Manmohan Singh should share with the house what he discussed with Zardari during their one-on-one meeting in Delhi.
The prime minister’s “continued and persistent absence from the house” was a matter of concern, particularly when key issues are being discussed, he said.
“When his presence is required, he is rarely present in the house,” said the BJP leader.
He, however, clarified that in questioning the prime minister’s absence he had not cast doubt over the competence of the external affairs minister in discussing issues with the house.